


Malcolm, Max, and Dani

by WhumpTown



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Malcolm Bright Needs a Hug, Malcolm Bright Whump, Whumptober
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2020-11-27 11:07:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20947319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhumpTown/pseuds/WhumpTown
Summary: Hey, whump plus Malcolm babysits a cute kid named Max





	1. Chapter 1

“Just-Just shut up!” 

Bright goes completely still. The tremor in his hand stops for a split second and then Dani can see the physical damage of her outbreak. Both his hands begin to tremble so bad he punches them into his thighs, shoving them into his pockets. His entire body quacks with nerves so raw. The shields she’d so delicately made him think he could put down, emotions he thought she wouldn’t manipulate, are drawn up and tight. 

She stands from her chair, too quickly. 

Bright stumbles backward. His face pinching in a wince when Gil’s hand reaches out to stop Bright’s uncoordinated movement. He dodges Gil’s hand, his right hand leaving his pocket and coming to push in the center of his chest. His breathing becomes erratic, his head shaking. He jerkily rubs his chest, stumbling from the room.

He drags himself from the room, his feet shuffling as he pushes and stumbles to getaway. 

“Gil, I-” 

Gil looks up at her, he’s angry. The anger doesn’t burn deep. He’s angry with the situation, not with her. While she does read the disappointment just under the anger. She handled that poorly. Bright was doing his job, it’s not his fault his nerves are shot to hell. He can’t sit still and he talks too quick. He still trusted her, for whatever reason. Now… She’s thrown it all away.

“Go.” Gil’s voice is rough. Dani flinches. She mistakes him to mean ‘don’t come back’. He nods his head, towards Bright. “Follow him home. He doesn’t lock the back door. Get some saltine crackers and ginger ale. Fix this.” Gil turns around and walks to the door, with a hand on the frame he adds,” and don’t come back until you have. Okay?”

Dani nods,” yeah. I-I mean, yes sir.” This time it’s her trembling hands being shoved deep into pockets. She keeps hearing herself, her voice so harsh. Bright didn’t deserve that. She’s just like all the bullies she knows he had in school. 

:::::::::::::::::::::

“Uh, knock? Knock?” She arrives in Bright’s apartment, her hands shaking and wondering if this really is the best thing to do. His door is wide open. She takes three steps in and finds him. 

The apartment is odd, cut up in a weird way that, well... it suits him. He’s somewhere in what would be considered the living room but also the kitchen. Curled up on his side, his hair covers most of his face. The fact that he’s laying on the floor isn’t the first thing that really crosses her mind but the child sitting by him in Spider-Man underoos. 

“Bright?” She steps in and Bright doesn’t move. The kid tilts her head, uneven pony-tails flopping as she looks at Bright. Then she turns to Dani, looks up and down and mumbles something to Bright. 

The girl smiles at her,” Malcolm says-” she changes her voice to a ridiculously deep one- “ he ‘can’t help right now. Please come back later!’” In the end, she nearly topples over laughing. Bright reaches out and pushes her stomach, only making her laugh harder. 

Dani comes the rest of the way in. She puts the bags on the counter and stands to observe Bright and the kid. She seems to not mind sitting on the floor at all. In fact, she sits near Bright’s head. He’s curled in on himself, his knees up to his chest. She doesn’t mind. He mumbles something to her and she frowns, looking to Dani, and then answering Bright.

“Hey, Miss Lady Detective?” The little girl uncurls herself, leaving Bright on the floor. “I’m babysitting Mal-” Bright mumbles a cut off objection and the girl rolls her eyes. “Malcolm babysits me sometimes when my daddy has to work overtime. I have gummies,” she points, rolling up on to her tip-toes,” all the way up there in that shelf.” 

The little girl walks right under the shelf,” Malcolm wants you to get them cause I’m hungry.”

“What’s your name? My name’s Dani, I work-”

“He told me.” She says it so matter-of-factly that Dani does a double-take. “Can you get my gummies?”

Dani takes a deep breath and keeps moving. She reaches up and for once is thankful for Bright’s barren take on life. The only thing in the cabinet looks like food for a little girl. There’s also only one box of gummies. 

“Thanks!” She grabs a bag and runs back to Bright, sliding on her knees. She rolls on to her side, spreading her gummies out on the floor. She talks to Bright, Dani can’t hear what they’re saying, but she can tell the girl is helping. Bright reaches out, taking one of the gummies and popping it in his mouth. 

“Malcolm!” She pouts but only for a moment, he reaches out and pulls her against him. He tickles her, both of them smiling and wiggling on the floor as he mercilessly tickles her sides. When he lets go it’s like the whole mood shifts. The smile is gone from both of them. The girls seems more upset than Bright.

She stands up, moving away from Bright. She picks up her trash, throwing what’s left in her mouth. She brings the trash to a little trash can by the island. She doesn’t look Dani in the eyes, she glares down at the floor. “His brain is sad today. That means he won’t eat. So, he has to lay on the floor so that his head doesn’t think it’s empty. He falls over when his head thinks it’s empty.”

Dani smiles, kneeling down on her knees. “What’s your name?”

The girls frown at Dani for a long minute. “Max.”

“Okay, Max, here’s the plan.” Dani motions up to the bag on the counter. “We’re going to get our buddy Br-Malcolm up on the bed. He’ll eat a couple of crackers and me and you… We can watch that new Spider-Man movie. How does that sound?”

Max looks hesitant.

Dani sighs,” look, Max. I yelled at Malcolm today, it was mean. I shouldn’t have done that but he’s my friend.” The affectionate term seems weird but still fitting. “I hurt him today-”

“You scared him,” Max looks up at her with these big sad eyes. “He’s only got two friends, Miss Dani. Me and you.”

Dani sighs,” yeah. Well, that’s why I need your help.” Dani glances over at Malcolm,” think you can pour some of this ginger ale in a cup? I’m gonna get our buddy up on the bed.”

Max glances at Malcolm. “Make sure he puts the mouth guard in.” She tuts her little head and moves to grab the ginger ale.

Dani takes a deep breath. This is either going to go well or just really, really bad.


	2. Chapter 2

Dani studies them. Max can’t be any older than eight, she’s missing teeth all over the place. She’s smart, that’s undeniable. She watches everything Dani does, she’s protective and it’s undeniably adorable. 

“You’ve got a mini-me,” Dani comments, only taking Malcolm’s limp hand to the restraints when he shows no qualms for the movement. His hands are cold and rough, trembling in the loose grasp she has them in. “She’s pretty darn cute.” The other hand is much easier, he doesn’t so much as watch her tie the other down. 

Once she’s done, she’s not sure what to do. Malcolm didn’t touch the soup but Max devoured it. Malcolm hardly managed to eat a saltine before going a little green in the cheeks. By the time Dani pulled a second out a second from the sleeve, Malcolm was struggling to get away from her, from those crackers. 

“Miss Dani?” Max tots right up to the bed and glances between Malcolm and Dani. She shifts right foot to left foot. She glances at Malcolm for one long second and yawns, rubbing at her eyes with little closed fists. When she drops her hands, it’s like she’s completely forgotten what she wanted to say. She just leans sleepily against Malcolm’s bed. 

Malcolm pats her stomach, earning himself a little giggle. Max rolls over and throws a leg up on the bed and just climbs right up beside Malcolm. Dani’s immediately conflicted. Max seems completely okay with Malcolm. It takes only a moment for her to take a fistful of his shirt in his fist and bury her face in his side. She’s completely comfortable with her and Malcolm, honestly, seems more relaxed. 

It’s the tremors and night terrors… Dani knows Malcolm is generally harmless, he seems to really like Max too but what happens when Malcolm’s sleep doesn’t really seem to be in his control. And that’s what worries Dani.

Dani clears her throat,” Max, if you want to comes with me-” She gives up before she really finishes because neither of them are paying attention. She leaves them to sleep and she realizes that it really is late. About 10 pm. 

She sleeps on his couch. It smells way better than she could have imagined. When she first met him, she figured he was just another pretty white boy. She expected some daddy issues, a cologne that kind of burns around the nose when he steps too close, and a hothead. Instead, he smells wind-tossed, soft. The daddy issues she expected, a sense of authority and arrogance, are worse. She’d prefer arrogance to sickly pale skin, thin trembling hands, and dark bags under startling blue eyes. 

Windswept. 

“N-No!”

Dani sits up, the cool night air bites at her exposed flesh. The apartment is flooded in the night’s light. Cars and buildings flash and go in and out. It bathes Malcolm’s bed in soft reds and yellows. 

“N-N… Stop! N-No!” 

Malcolm jerks in the restraints. Dani stands, ready to run to the bed. Max sits up. Those crazy pigtails even more crooked than before and she moves around on the bed. It takes a moment for Dani to realize what she’s doing. Under the sheets, Max untangles Malcolm’s legs. Her head pops up, back from under the covers, and she dodges one of Malcolm’s flailing arms. She crawls under it, tucking herself against him until her heads on his shoulder.

He calms. It’s not immediate but it’s like even Malcolm’s unconscious brain recognizes Max’s presence. He stops mumbling in his sleep, his chest no longer heaving each breath. A moment later, his right arm wraps around Max. 

It takes a moment for Dani to ease back to the couch. Her heart beats fast in her chest but maybe she needs to give more credit to Max and Malcolm. She didn’t really think either were really prepared for the other. She’s happily wrong.

There’s no more problems throughout the night. She’d like to think it’s because he probably hasn’t slept in days but she knows better. It’s her fault and while that information makes it harder for her to sleep, she’s at least glad that Max can help Malcolm from experiencing the same trouble.

She wakes up to eggs. Rather, the smell of them. 

She sits up on the couch, Max sitting crisscrossed on the coffee table right in front of her. In her lap, a stacked plate of scrambled eggs. She’s eating them happily and Dani notes that her hair has been fixed. Two neat pigtails. 

“Good morning, Max.” Dani runs her own hands through her hair, pulling it back into a neater ponytail. Max turns around, a little bit of egg on her cheek and smiles. She turns around on the coffee table, leaving her back to the TV and her cartoons, to show Dani her plate. 

“Morning!” It comes from around a mouthful of egg but it’s very chipper and Dani smiles back. “Malcolm made me eggs! He said he would make you an omelet! I can’t eat a whole omelet by myself.”

Dani stands up, leaning back until her back cracks. That gets Malcolm’s attention. He looks up from whatever he’s reading in the kitchen. He greets her with a smile, a fake one she notes. “Detective Powell! It’s nice to see you’re awake. I heard Max ruined your surprise omelet.”

Amused Dani watches Malcolm flash Max a mock glare and she sticks her tongue out at him. 

“Here,” Malcolm slides her the plate. She notes the complete lack of another plate, which means Malcolm hasn’t eaten. “No onions but I used a bit of pepper.”

She nods,” thanks, Bright. You didn’t have to do that.” Curiosity really starts to burn and she takes a bite. Mostly, in the hopes that eating Malcolm’s omlete will get him to answer her questions. “So, you just watch Max sometimes?”

Malcolm heaves a small sigh at that. So, it’s not that simple. Malcolm leans over the counter, close to her. His voice low. “Her dad is a… Her mom’s dead. Overdose when Max was a year old. Max was the only person in the house. Her father’s… gone. So her uncle takes care of her.”

Malcolm clears his throat, smiling when Max looks over at them. “So, when he leaves for work I watch her for him. He works weird shifts and I like Max, she’s a good kid.”

“Yeah, she is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea what to write anymore
> 
> It's like I don't even know words


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set after Malcolm gets attacked by Paul in that hall

Malcolm never says anything about Max while they’re at work. Not that she’s given him a reason to or even brought up the child herself. There’s no reason to bring her up either but she catches glimpses of the girl. A butterfly drawn in vibrant red ink on Malcolm’s hand. A hairclip that stabs him in the thigh when he sits down beside her one day. A purple hair tie around his wrist when he hands her a tea. 

“Thanks for driving me back,” Malcolm’s still cradling his side when they step into his apartment. She can see his movements have lost the fluid ease they usually have. He’s careful, stiff. And in pain. 

She’s working on shutting the door when a familiar little head pops in the way. “It’s no problem. I don’t mind-”

Max runs through, not so much as even giving Dani a second glance. “Malcolm! You’re home early!” She runs through the living room and Dani winces at the impact of Max and Malcolm. To his credit, Malcolm’s pain only flashes a brief moment in his eyes.

It’s already masterfully hidden when he squats, tilting and catching himself with a thrown out hand. Max’s face pinches in confusion and she lets go of him. She reaches across them and pulls at his shirt. He catches her hand, “hey-” She works the two buttons keeping his shirt on apart from one another. “Easy, easy,” he warns. 

“Malcolm…” she looks up at him, her little voice immensely sad. “You’re hurt.” Her small hand presses the angry red skin, pulling back when he sucks a sharp breath through his teeth.

“Just a-a bruise.” His attempt to comfort is a failure. Max’s little hands shake at her sides, her eyes stuck square on Malcolm. “Oh, Max. Don’t cry. I’m okay, really.” He reaches out to her, both of them looking so broken when Max flinches away. His hand falls limp to his leg, his shoulder’s sagging,” Max, I wouldn’t lie to you.” It’s clear, Max doesn’t believe that. Malcolm adds,” ask Dani, I’m okay.”

Max sniffles sadly, “Dani’s here?” She sniffles sadly, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. Malcolm turns her around and point to Dani. Max doesn’t leave his side, she just offers a small wave and a sad smile. “Malcolm?” She turns back around and mumbles something very softly to him.

He sighs deeply and shakes his head. His answer is hardly above a whisper,” you know I can’t, Max. Why-”

“No-” Max pulls at the sides of Malcolm’s shirt. He looks away. “Malcolm, don’t want to.” She keeps pleading and Malcolm just looks at Dani. It’s very clear that if his attention lapses, even for a moment, he will look at Max and his resolve with shatter. “Malcolm?”

Tears swell into Malcolm’s eyes. His strength fading.  
There’s a knock at the door and a man Dani’s never seen steps in. His frown is similar to Malcolm’s, helpless. “Oh, Max.”

Max lets out a little sob and she hides her face in Malcolm’s shoulder. Gripping his shirt tight in her hands. “No! No, don’t make me go.”

The man’s features wilt. He’s tall, much larger than Malcolm, but the way he carries his body Dani imagines his size isn’t used to his advantage. Much more of a friendly giant, she doubts it possible to sound the number of bruises that mar his body from the amount of bumping about he does. “Sweatheart-”

Max clutches Malcolm tighter and the two men share a tearful glance over her shoulder.

The man is attractive. Lean and tall, lord and the dark hair, light eye combo is kind of… well, it’s hot. The weird standing he and Malcolm are now doing, almost the same facial expression coming from both sides. 

Malcolm pulls Max away,” go to Frank, Max.”

She sobs as soon as Malcolm lets her go. She runs to Frank, the man Dani can now place a name to. The little girl latches on tight, arms around his neck and legs around his waist. She’s tiny, something that is easy to forget when she acts so much older. Frank immediately holds her closer, rubbing her back. “I’m sorry, kid.”

Max buries her little head in Frank’s neck. 

“Thanks, Malcolm.” Frank nods to Malcolm, holding his niece closer. “I assume… When we come back…”

Malcolm extends his hand and Frank shakes it,” you know you’re both welcome here.”

Frank nods, wrapping his arms tight around Max. He gives Malcolm a small nod and he smiles awkwardly at Dani. He lets himself out, shutting the door gently. 

Malcolm stays on the ground. Curling in on himself despite the bruised and broken ribs. He buries his head in his hands, 

“Malcolm?” She’s not sure what to do with herself so she sits down beside him. She doesn’t want to touch him, not if he doesn’t want her to. Personal boundaries are always important but if Malcolm’s fighting off a panic attack the last thing he needs is her touching him.

Malcolm speaks though, surprising them both with the frustration that has seeped into his voice. “She’s a child, Dani.” He looks over at her,” we’re supposed to keep her safe. The courts failed her.” He frowns at the floor,” do you remember what I said about her father?”

Dani nods, recalling well enough what was said. Something about a dead mom, drugs, and a shit dad. 

“He’s back,” Malcolm says it into his hands. “Wants custody.”

“Is Max going to go live with him?”

Malcolm shakes his head. Still frowning,” he won’t pass a drug test but she has to go see him every week until he does.” He sighs and tries to stand, ending up folding in on himself and hissing a pained breath.

“Here,” she stands up and holds her hand out. “Come on,” she helps him up. Keeping him upright even when his knees threaten to pitch him back on the floor. “You should probably rest up a little.”

Malcolm leans into her, letting her guide him to the bed. 

“You know, Max is lucky to have you.”

Malcolm rolls on to his side, cradling his other side with his arm. He hums, drowsy from the painkillers. He’s only partially aware of her hands tying him to the bed. Already asleep by the time she pulls the blankets to his chest.

“You’re a good man.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What would you like to see out of Malcolm and Max?

**Author's Note:**

> There's going to be a second chapter, just not sure what it'll be


End file.
